By Jake Thorne

Analysis of 3 film posters

Goodfellas film poster

The title of this poster is very interesting as it makes the audience ask question – Goodfellas, implies that these are good fellas, but it is a gangster film so it will intrigues the reader/audience. The word fella, is normal phrase that people use to describe a man – one of the lads. The one worded title of Goodfellas also works well as it stays in the audiences head & has a nice sounds to it. I think my title – Blood ‘n’ Bone also works well as by shortening the and to ‘n’ combines the words Blood & Bone to make it more like a one worded title so this will stick well with the audience.

Title

Just above the title, there is a slogan which reads “ever since I can remember I wanted to be a gangster” which shows a kind of twisted criminal theme which contrast with the title and will again make the audience ask question – how can these guys be ‘goodfellas’ if they think like that. I think it is also important to have a slogan for my film on my film poster to intrigue & draw in the audience, as this is an important connotation.

Slogan

The actors that can bee seen on this poster are 3 big actors – Roberto De Nrio is one of them, this is one of the films unique sellnig points as people will pay good money to see their favourite actors in a film. The way the three men are dressed also connotes their gangster image further & also promotes the air of suspiciousness as there are dressed in black smart suits, usually associated with the mafia & gangs.

Actor images

There credits that can be seen at the bottom of the poster, is a very important convention of the film poster genre, as it shows who the director & main cast are, therefore I think it is very important that my poster also contains this convention.

Credits

Trainspotting

The title of this film poster is very interesting, as it implies that the film is about something very boring – Trainspotting, having this title could put a lot of people off, but it could also work the other way and make people want to see the film as after looking at the image of the actors, they do not look like train spotters, so this title works the same as the goodfellas title – it intrigues the audience & make them want to know more about the film. Also, jsut liek the goodfellas poster, this poster also has just a one word title which is again catchy and will stay in the audiences mind.

Title

This poster does not follow the genre, as it does not have a slogan, instead it challenges this convention. instead of a slogan this poster has a line saying “from the makers of Shallow Grave” which shows that the makers are a fairly big company and have made good films before, which will encourage the target audience to go and see this film.

Slogan

This poster has images of 5 actors- 2 of them being big name actors – Robert Carlisle & Ewan mcgregor, these two actors are very big British actor so will appeal to the British market very well. Also the 5 actor images are a bit impulsive & random, which contrasts with the boring title of Trainspotting,, this will once again draw the audience in and make them ask questions about the film & what it is about.

Actor images

This poster follows the conventions of the film poster genre & has credits at the bottom of the poster, but unlike other poster this ones credits are quite small, which suggests it is a smaller film, with perhaps a smaller budget, which is correct as it is a British film, and generically British films have smaller budgets.

Credits

Notorious

The title of this film poster for the film Notorious, is a very good generic example, as its in gold & capitals which makes it stand out very well to the audience, the word Notorious also will stick in the audiences head as not only is it a word title & easy to remember, it was the name of the big Rapper , which the film is about, but also Notorious, means that people know what something mean & associate it with something, which is a very clever way of drawing the target audience in.

Title

This poster follows the conventions of the film poster genre & has a slogan, which is very important, as, the rapper Notorious, is claimed as having said many quote, so this keeps well with the target audience & fans of Notorious. The slogan is “no dream is too big” which is a play on words as Notorious was a very large man, and he had dreams of being a rapper & he made it so it is a play on word tied in with Nortorious’s life, which is a great way of attracting notorious fans & drawing in the target audience.

Slogan

There is only one image on this poster – of Notorious which is highly generic, as he does not even fit into the whole poster & still take up most of it. It is a very good close up of him in a suit & jewellery, wearing a bowler hat & expensive shade, giving off an image of a rich gangster rapper, showing off his bling, but at the same time looking like he is deep in thought. This again will please Notorious fans, as they will want to see him showing off his bling & look big. This will also attract the audience as they will want to see more about this rich man who looks suspicious & a bit shifty, but cool at the same time.

Actor Images

Like with the Trainspotting film poster, the credits are a lot smaller on this poster, but not for the same reasons, the reason for this is because this is a biopic film about Notorious and the focus is on him so the producers & director do not want the focus to be on any actors or cast, as Notorious is THE selling point of this film.

Credits